2009 trash picking season is over - Adopt-a-Highway

October has been a bad month to pick up trash . On the 3rd it rained, on the 10th it snowed, and on the 17th ice was over everything.

Trash picking activities will resume in April 2010.

Snow today - trash picking postponed until October 17th

Yesterday there was frost on the pumpkin and today there is snow on the ground. Picking is postponed for another week. Let's meet on Saturday, October 17th.

It's Adopt-A-Highway, not Adopt-A-River

We were picking trash on Hwy 371 in Crow Wing County Minnesota. I looked over the highway bridge and saw that a dock section had washed downstream on the Nokasippi and was caught up. Shoot, you don't see that everyday.

October 10, 2009 Adopt-A-Highway Minnesota

The rain on Saturday kept some volunteers at home and that is to be expected. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, October 10th.

The Cass County site, Hwy 64 (mm 24-26) was picked on Monday of this week. About 95% of the trash in this rural site was jetsam. My impression is that in the metro, the trash mix is about fifty-fifty between flotsam and jetsam.

There is currently no Adopt-A-Highway program in Crow Wing County. I will begin a campaign for the county to adopt such a program and secured the name of one of the county commissioners and I will start there. Cass County has an Adopt-A-Highway program and so should Crow Wing County.

Adopt-A-Highway Minnesota October 3, 2009 rainy day

It's dark and rainy at 7:25 AM. If the rain continues we will have to re-schedule. We can pick it up again next Saturday, October 10th. Come to the 'Bou at Bren Rd and 169 anyway and we can visit. How 'bout those Twins? And how 'bout them Vikes? And how 'bout that Bret Fave?

Litter facts from Minnesota DOT

Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up litter on more than 12,000 miles of Minnesota roadways.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up approximately 26,000 tons of litter every year.
During a one-time sweep of Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers picked up 192 tons of trash in one day. The quantity filled 16 Mn/DOT tandem trucks and represented approximately 6,000 filled trash bags.
Researchers calculate that 55% of all littering is done intentionally by people who drop or discard products.
45% of roadside litter occurs unintentionally when trash blows out of uncovered trucks or falls off of unsecured loads.
Experts estimate that approximately 80% of all littering is done by males.
Food and beverage packaging constitutes 51% of roadside litter.
A conviction for littering is a misdemeanor that is entered on the offender's driving record. A second offense requires a minimum fine of $400 and a maximum of $700. A judge may require the offender to pick up litter along public roads or impose a jail sentence. (MN statutes 169.42 subd. 5)
Mn/DOT can bill an individual for retrieving and disposing of illegally dumped items like tires, appliances, furniture and hazardous waste.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers save Mn/DOT $6.9 million every year.
Tipping fees imposed by landfills cost Mn/DOT approximately $250,000 every year.